Breaking Point
by viridian-blue
Summary: As the Alienizers prepare to mount a full-scale invasion of Earth, history threatens to repeat itself and destroy the team from within. All because it affects one Dekaranger. Hoji X OC
1. First Glances

**This is my first Dekaranger fic so please bear with me... it's Hoji/Jasmine. And by the way, I'm just assuming that Hoji is 25.**

**This is something like an AU, and the whole thing would (hopefully) start to make sense once I drop in the flashback. However, please do drop in reviews and suggestions.**

**By the way, if you want me to do any pairings, PM me or drop a review.**

Hoji sat there, his head in his hands. His life had been crushed ten years ago, on this day. He was not like Tetsu, carefree, perfectly fine. He wished he was. But night had fallen on his life that very night when his parents had been murdered in front of him. The sunrise never came.

No one knew anything about Hoji except his name, his rank, his age and a few of his skills. They knew the superficial details, but not everything. If they knew him as he was, over ten years before, they would have been shocked at the change. Hoji never truly smiled. Not since his parents had been killed. By Sucubus.

"Hoji-san?" He looked up just to see a very concerned Jasmine standing in front of him.

"Are you all right? You look pale. Mission exhaustion?"

"No, I'm fine. Just-" Hoji was cut off by the sirens. Good. It saved him the pointless hurt of having to relive his horrible past by telling it again.

As Hoji ran towards DekaRoom, he suddenly felt a cold draft in the corridors. A pair of eyes watched him, noticing his unusual behaviour.

"What's wrong with him?" Tetsu muttered. He was determined to find out.

*~*

"Aburera has somehow assembled an army of Alienizers. They are wrecking the city. I hope you know what to do." Even Kruger seemed a little out of character.

"Roger!" As all of them filed out, Hoji felt a little sting in his eyes and his vision swam. Ignoring it, he morphed. There was no point letting the other Dekas see him cry. After all, he hadn't cried in years. Why should he now?

"Those pesky Dekarangers are coming AGAIN. Get ready. " Aburera didn't seem very surprised. After all, the Dekarangers always came. But now was the time to hit at their weak spot, which was very well hidden. DekaBlue. If Sucubus made him crack just a little more than what he could take, the Dekas would have a disabled second-in-command. Now as to how to get Sucubus to recognise the young man who had fought against her because she had killed his parents...he had a plan. As his apprentice liked to say, he made no mistakes. None at all.

"You know, that one down there, second row fifth column, with the nine antennae, he looks pretty cute." Everyone rolled his or her eyes. Just like Umeko to analyse the 'cute factor' of Alienizers when they were supposed to be fighting them.

"Fine, then you can take him out. Oh, while you're at it, take out the other ninety-nine while we go for lunch." Ban couldn't help but take a crack at her.

"Shut up, you two. Let's go." Everyone was shocked. Hoji usually wasn't so rude, even to Ban.

One by one, the Alienizers fell. Now there seemed to be none left. Suddenly, one more landed in front of them.

"Sucubus!" Hoji's voice seemed to hold fury that scared the others. Suddenly, their SP Licenses just emitted sparks and failed. They demorphed instantly.

"Ah! It's you. How is your sister?" Sucubus wanted the challenge. The last time she had fought Hoji, she had fought because of the double satisfaction of winning the fight first and then...

Hoji glared at Sucubus. How dare she taunt him about Miwa? He had been practicing for this day for ten years.

"Come and fight me, DekaBlue. I will kill you first, before killing your sister in front of you the way I did your parents." That was the final straw. Hoji snatched a laser stick (**AU: Something like a lightsaber in Star Wars) **and ignited it as he ran towards Sucubus. Today he would take revenge for everything that Sucubus had taken from him.

Laughing, Sucubus angled her blade. This was going to be too easy. Aburera had given her advice on how to make DekaBlue err in the fight. She just had to keep taunting him.

"So, you want to die too. I'm not surprised."

"By the way, Sucubus, how do you like that lightning scar on your face? Nice memento of the fight, isn't it?" Hoji sneered. Two could play at Sucubus' game. He laughed as Sucubus snarled and slashed at him. No big deal. He just sidestepped the blow. As the fight continued, Sucubus continued taunting him about how useless he was, how he had failed to save his loved ones when they needed him. Hoji only had the taunt about what he had done to her looks and it wouldn't work twice. However, maybe a taunt about what his parents had done might work...

"You must be really useless in sword-fighting too, or else my father wouldn't have been able to hit you so hard that you need that ridiculous regeneration suit for protection." Sucubus roared and slashed at Hoji hard before vanishing. Despite knowing that they were just facts which he had long come to terms with (or so he thought), Hoji was severely shaken by her taunts. The barriers he had built to stop those memories from haunting him were falling down all around him.

On the way back to DekaBase, Hoji didn't say a word. He was trying to figure out what he could do to stop the memories from killing him again. The others were still trying to figure out what Sucubus meant.

In the Aim Training Room, Tetsu thought of his parents. Genio had killed them in cold blood, but the Special Police had arrived before Genio could harm him. His social worker had said, "One day you will meet someone who can understand, who has seen this happen to his own parents. Then you might become friends. But his experience might be worse."

Tetsu didn't notice Hoji enter the Aim Training Room. However, he felt a pair of hands start adjusting his position.

"Ninety degrees, elbow locked, spine straight, left foot pointing forward, right foot forty-five degrees away. Seriously. Sometimes I wonder how you passed the Tokukyou exam. Keep your position straight. If you hunch, you'll miss." Tetsu heard Hoji's voice as he felt Hoji help him adjust his position. He just hoped Hoji didn't look at the counter...

"Hm...You've been in here an hour and you've only scored two? Impressive. They should consider kicking you out of the Tokukyou." Hoji tried to hide the shock at the score, but failed miserably.

"I'm sorry, I'm just...just thinking about my parents. What they would be like if they were still here." He felt Hoji's grip suddenly tighten on his arm.

"Ouch, buddy, ouch. Let go. Any tighter and my bones will break."

"Sorry." Tetsu could detect the clench in Hoji's voice. Well, everyone could, for it was extremely obvious.

As Hoji walked out, Tetsu had the feeling that Hoji was hiding something. Just then, he noticed something silver on the floor. It was a locket. As Tetsu opened it, he sort of understood what was extraordinary about this locket, why it somehow seemed to give off an aura of sadness and death.

Instead of a photo in each of its two windows, the left window contained a burnt wooden fragment and the right window contained a bloodstained scrap of metal. But from its aged look, Tetsu could see that this wasn't just any locket. He somehow felt its origin.

This one had seen the worst of the horrors of the Alienizers' invasion that had hit Earth. The murders of someone close to its owner, the loss of part of its owner. (Cliffhanger...)

Ten years ago.


	2. Confront to Understand

**Alright, in this chapter I'll be explaining a little more on Hoji's past. Tetsu confronts Hoji about everything after Hoji almost brings a reconnaissance mission crashing down due to his feelings about his past.**

_In DekaRoom_

"Alright, we need to find out what Aburera is doing. All of you will go to the deserted warehouse and try to find out what is going on. Get in, get the information, get samples if you can and then get out." Doggy Kruger was determined not to make any mistakes.

"Roger!"

As the Dekarangers ran out, Kruger couldn't help but hope that neither Sucubus nor Genio would be there. Hoji's self-control was already strained by Sucubus' taunts. If they taunted him again, he wouldn't be able to take it and would most likely sink back into the nervous wreck that he had been when his parents had been killed.

*~*

"Move, you stinking little lump of metal. We cannot afford to lose this cargo." Aburera snapped at an Anaroid that was moving rather slowly. If the Dekarangers came again, their plan was ruined. Unless he could get that blue boy to totally snap...

"Sucubus. I need you to taunt DekaBlue if he shows up. Or if you think that his team is there, start calling out the taunts. He'll probably come and face you. Then while he attacks, taunt him until he looks like he's going to break and then get out of there." Sucubus nodded and a smile formed on her lips. There was nothing more pleasing than to see agony in the world and the boy was a very good source.

*~*

Once they got past the Batsuroid guards, the team split up. They each took a small sample, got incriminating information and then met up at the second floor. As luck would have it, Ban accidentally kicked a box and the sound it made was heard by Sucubus, who was on the same floor. She smiled to herself behind the helmet. Now was time to torture that blue kid.

"I know you're there, DekaBlue! Come out here and fight! Why, afraid that I'll kill your comrades the way I did ten years ago? Or that Genio would go for your younger sister while you fight me? You're a coward, DekaBlue. Coward!" Sucubus took great pleasure in spitting out the last word. For Hoji, that was the last straw. He could take every insult Sucubus threw at him but he wasn't going to take threats to his sister lying down.

"Jasmine, take the vial and run. Tetsu, take my License. All the information is inside. Umeko, take the microchip and then all of you snatch the remaining idiot here and run." Hoji hissed. Jasmine suddenly had a bad feeling about this.

"But Hoji-san, what are you going to do?"

"3...2...1...Go!" All of them moved at once. Hoji snap-rolled out to meet Sucubus while the rest ran.

"Well, well, well, look which coward decided to show himself for a fight. Surprising since he didn't do so ten years ago, when his parents-" Sucubus was cut off by a slash from Hoji. He had the laser stick out and was standing in fighting position. Sucubus met every blow with a parry and threw taunts at Hoji with every attack that she launched.

"How touchy. Just like ten years ago. A boy of 15, fighting me? Impossible."

"That was ten years ago." Hoji attacked harder with every taunt, but his fury fuelled her taunts.

"Ah, really? You are still the same, DekaBlue. Useless and helpless when your friends and family need you. You will never be the great Deka you always wanted to be. Never. Especially not after you blew your current reconnaissance mission." Laughing, Sucubus vanished. She knew her job was done. DekaBlue would crack and his teammates would never trust him again. It would be a fall from almost-grace. Enough to kill him, first emotionally and psychologically, then he'd possibly kill himself. And she would make sure she saw it.

*~*

_In DekaRoom_

When Hoji arrived, Kruger was standing there, his arms folded.

"What did you think you were doing?" Kruger wasn't impressed. Hoji had just blown the mission. Now Aburera knew that they had the information. The Dekas had lost the element of surprise.

"Taking revenge." Kruger couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Revenge? What happened to the young man I knew ten years ago, the one with knowledge that revenge doesn't make things right?"

Hoji stared at the Boss in the eyes. Kruger could only see hurt, grief and anger in them.

"He grew up when the 'cream of the crop' Tokukyou left his parents to die." With that, Hoji left DekaRoom. He knew he would have some explaining to do when his teammates confronted him.

*~*

_Team Dormitory_

Tetsu and the others were waiting for Hoji. None of them were pleased. This was the second time Hoji had interrupted a mission and they weren't very happy with it.

As Hoji entered, he saw their scowls, the one on Tetsu's face most prominent, and tried to make his way through them when Tetsu stopped him.

"We need to talk. About you interrupting the missions." Hoji knew this would come. He had an answer anyway. He just hoped the little guy didn't probe.

"It's nothing to do with you."

"It does. You're letting your feelings get in the way of duty. You're obstructing justice itself!" Tetsu's voice was harder than granite. Hoji glared at him.

"I do believe the same thing happened when you found Genio's accomplice and realised that Genio had killed your parents."

"You!!!" Tetsu punched Hoji hard across the face. At that minute, Swan came in. She helped Hoji up while signing to Tetsu and the others _We'll discuss this later,_ and as Hoji went back to his room, his shoulder brushed Jasmine's. Almost at once, Jasmine felt a cold wave pass through her. Suddenly, a memory that seemed to be Hoji's flashed through her mind. Just one memory.

_A person falling...a male. Then a female. One by one, they all fell. Like bowling pins_

_The image of Sucubus, crossing blades with Hoji_

_DekaBright calling to her superior "It would be better if we left them!"_

"Jasmine? JASMINE!" Blinking, she looked around. Tetsu's hands were on her shoulders and he was shaking her hard.

"I'm fine, I'm just..." Jasmine trailed off. She summed up all her courage to ask what she wanted to ask.

"Swan-san, tell me about Hoji's past."

*~*

_Hoji's Room_

In his room, Hoji lay on the bed, thinking about that day, ten years ago. Now, Sucubus had seemed right. Even as his parents were killed, he had not been able to do anything.

Sucubus was right too. As long as the past was weighing him down, he would never become the Deka he wanted to be. So the only way was to let go.

But the problem was, Hoji couldn't bring himself to let go. The memories hurt, but they were the only ones he had of his parents and his true friends.

After that day, Hoji had never loved anyone again.

*~*

Swan sighed as she took a seat in the common room, all of them sitting in a circle. She took a deep breath. Hoji's parents, Tomasu Masato and Chounen Misaki, had been her good friends. However, she constantly reminded herself that Hoji was the one who hurt the most.

"Hoji's parents were Tomasu Masato and Chounen Misaki, the two best agents in the whole of SPD. Then the Earth invasion came."

_Flashback_

_Lasers blotted the sky, all coming from the fighters above. As each was shot down, everyone dived aside to avoid being hit._

"_Today your time will end, Sucubus. I hit you hard before and I'll do it again." Tomasu Masato's yell was lost in the snarl of his laser stick._

"_Oh really? Look at your youngest child, then. Watch her die." His head whipped round to see 7-year old Miwa step out in fright. Just as a blast from Genio's cannon flew towards her. He never got to see her 15-year old brother pull her back just as the blast hit someone who walked where she had been standing. Sucubus' blade penetrated Tomasu Masato's chest and he fell, at the same time as Chounen Misaki fell, a slash to the neck having done the job. Sucubus' work, of course._

"_Tokukyou units, get ready to go in and rescue Agents Misaki and Masato!" The Tokukyou leader commanded._

"_No! If we go in just to save them, we risk the whole team! Leave them!" DekaBright, the newbie Tokukyou, called. _

_She never saw the hate burning in young Hoji's eyes._

_As Dekas fell left and right, Sucubus laughed. Hoji was furious. Snatching his laser stick, one that he had built himself, he ignited it as he ran towards Sucubus._

"_You'll pay!" Sucubus' only response was a mocking laugh. Hoji was powerful, but he had let his fury get the better of him. With two sharp slashes, Sucubus slashed off Hoji's sword arm from the shoulder onwards and cut a deep gash in Hoji's back._

"_We will meet again, boy, but you will still lose. For you are still inferior, and always will be." With an evil laugh, Sucubus vanished, leaving Hoji to the physical and emotional hurt._

_When the last of the Alienizers were defeated, the Tokukyou rescue team finally came in. Hoji was unconscious, Miwa safely with another surviving Deka and his parents and friends had all died. _

_From that day on, Hoji had sworn revenge on Sucubus. After that day, when all his friends were killed, Hoji never made any true friends._

_It was like he'd never loved at all._

_End of flashback_

When Swan finished telling the tale, Jasmine leant back.

"So that was the memory I saw."

"Hoji has a locket. Pure platinum, his mother's. It was the only thing he took from her dead body. Inside he put a burnt wooden fragment, from his mother's wooden signet ring, and a bloodstained scrap of metal, part of the sword that killed his father." At Swan's words, Tetsu stared at the locket in his hand. Jasmine, sitting beside him, reached over and touched it.

"I see it! Chounen Misaki, falling, her signet ring being tossed through the sky by Sucubus, and then Tomasu Masato, the sword fragment from his chest...It's so horrible!" Jasmine buried her face in her hands, her breathing shaky. Tetsu could only stare at the locket as Swan confirmed quietly that that was the one. Tetsu stared at the locket that meant so much to his teammate.

The one whom had just lost trust in him.

The one who had a life worse than his.

**I know this chapter's a bit long, but sorry, there were quite a few things here that I needed to explain.**


	3. Down

**I hope everyone enjoyed the last chapter, as I spent quite some time writing it. In this chapter, Hoji's weak points are revealed, and Aburera targets them. When Hoji finally cracks, can the other Dekarangers help him to come to terms with his past? Read on to find out!**

Just at that moment, the sirens sounded. Hoji was, surprisingly, the first out of the door. When they reached DekaRoom, Hoji was there already. Tetsu avoided the gaze of his brown eyes. He dared not meet them to see what they held, but Jasmine noticed well enough. Hoji's eyes held only hate, fury and the promise of hell.

"A kaijuuki is terrorising the city! It seems like the new and more powerful Shinobi Stalker! Stop it!" Swan sounded terrified and anxious. _Why shouldn't she, _thought Hoji. _She's just afraid I'll crack._ As the Dekarangers used the shooters to get out of the conference centre, Doggie turned to Swan.

"So the others know?" Doggie was confirming what he probably knew. Almost no one could hide anything from him. Except Hoji.

"Yes. I just hope that Hoji doesn't crack. The Shinobi Stalker was one of the kaijuuki that was part of the Earth invasion and that one killed his cousin, one of the previous Dekarangers. Hopefully this one won't kill Hoji." Swan was worried. If Hoji cracked, they would have a hard time helping him. They needed someone who was close to him to help him, and all of Hoji's friends and family had died. He never made any others. It had been the same case with Jasmine. Only Hoji could help her maintain a hold on her power, and now only someone close to him could help him. But where could they find such a person?

They could only hope that Hoji could take the stress. Kruger had no doubt he could. He'd handled many stressful missions before, so why should this incident be different?

But Swan was still worried. For this was not stress. It was torture on the young man who had barely recovered from that agony.

*~*

When the Dekarangers got there, the Shinobi Stalker had already destroyed half the town. Tetsu saw Hoji's already solid grip on his SP License tighten further as his license creaked in protest.

"Henshin Standby!" Hoji was furious. This kaijuuki had killed his cousin ten years ago and he was going to destroy it and its pilot one way or another. The others were shocked at the fury in Hoji's voice but they just did as they were told.

"Emergency! Dekaranger!" As all of them morphed, Hoji called the DekaMachines. They combined to form Dekaranger Robo and then faced the Shinobi Stalker.

"Its cockpit is...there! There! It's there!" Umeko almost leapt out of her seat in excitement.

"Umeko...where on that thing is 'there'?" Sen was getting irritated at Umeko's frequent ambiguity.

"Oh. Its chest. Right where that small little nut is-"

"We know, Umeko. Thanks anyway." Hoji cut her off before she could say which nut. He knew already. His cousin had hit that spot with his laser blaster just before he died. That destroyed the Shinobi Stalker. Umeko was extremely surprised.

_How did he know which one without waiting for her to finish?_ That line was on everyone else's minds.

"Alright, then. Let's slash him." Ban was about to hit the controls when once again Hoji's voice cut through the communications.

"No. Its armour is too strong. Volcanic Buster will work. But be careful. This thing is quick and can reach a higher per-second speed than Dekaranger Robo." Hoji said calmly. Or so he hoped. There was no sense in getting another punch from that DekaBreak.

As they destroyed the Shinobi Stalker, Hoji thought of the battle. He had lost everything he loved, everyone he treasured in that battle. But he was going to take revenge. The Tokukyou had not heard the end of their two finest agents ever.

*~*

"Look! Its pilot's over there!" Umeko's voice cut through his thoughts. He looked and saw Sucubus there. Again. If he wasn't careful he would snap and then DekaBreak would kill him, not just punch him.

Sucubus saw Dekaranger Robo almost at the same time. Good. DekaBlue would be there. Now it was time to finish what she had started. Raising a walkie-talkie to her lips, she began to speak.

"DekaBlue. I know you can hear me. And there is no need for privacy. You should have long come to terms with your parents' death, so it won't affect you." Hoji's fist clenched. Everyone could hear her now.

"You know I killed your parents. It was an honour to have killed SPD's two finest agents. Your cousin too. He was really easy. And not to forget, of course. Tanaka Shiki! You loved her, didn't you? You lost her in that battle. You lost her because you were too busy fighting me. You never saw Genio polish her off. Your arrogance got you in the end. I will kill your sister the way I did your family and friends ten years ago, and the same thing will happen to your comrades. They will all die. And it will be your fault. You will fail to save them the way you failed ten years ago. You will never succeed. It will all end here. So you've got some options. One, kill yourself. Two, come out here and get killed by me the way your loved ones did. Or three. Come and join us." Hoji bowed his head. He had no choice. His pride prevented him from taking option 1 and his hatred for the Alienisers ran too deep for him to take option 3.

"Make your choice, DekaBlue. You don't have much time anyway. Or should I say your sister has barely any time left." Hoji looked up. His eyes were filled with the hatred, anger and grief that had erased love, joy and passion from his life.

"Drop dead, Sucubus." Hoji leapt out of Dekaranger Robo. He would face this heartless alien alone.

As Hoji attacked, Sucubus parried with barely any effort at all. She feinted with a slash that never hit his sword arm and then a sharp slice towards his back. That threw him off. He now knew he would fail. That was better. He would either die at her hands now or kill himself. Either way he would still die. And that was all she asked for.

As she vanished, Hoji demorphed and collapsed to his knees. His breathing was shaky and he was trembling, but he barely noticed it.

He would be tormented by the memories of the Earth invasion 10 years ago. The reason why was simple.

The barriers he had built around those memories were finally down.


End file.
